The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds in recent years while doling out hefty salaries to its top brass and bankrolling a variety of left-wing initiatives.
NASEM, which the New York Times reported in 2023 derives 70% of its budget from federal funds, received $200,616,000 in taxpayer funding from grants and contracts in 2023, according to its own Treasurer’s Report.
That budget includes several salaries for top-level positions at NASEM that exceed $1 million per year, according to the organization’s 990 forms reviewed by Fox News Digital.
National Academy of Medicine President Victor Dzau receives a salary of $1,026,973 per year, National Academy of Engineering President John Anderson earns $1,027,185 per year, and National Academies President Marcia McNutt earns $1,061,843 each year.
Additionally, NASEM’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, Laura Castillo-Page, earned $333,788 in 2023.
NASEM has used its federal funding to promote a variety of liberal causes, including putting on events related to climate change, racism and ‘health equity.’
In 2021, NASEM helped put on an event that discussed how ‘environmental injustice’ and ‘structural racism’ exacerbate climate change for ‘communities of color.’ Attendees discussed ways to use ‘stories’ to influence elected officials on climate policy, including ‘the powerful indigenous voice about the existential threats that humanity faces.’
A 2021 NASEM workshop examined how ‘spatial justice’ can exacerbate public health problems among ‘historically marginalized communities.’
NASEM organized an event a year later that examined how ‘structural racism’ and biased ‘social norms,’ including ‘representation in media and body image,’ contribute to obesity.
NASEM issued a report in 2023 detailing recommendations for federal policies to improve ‘racial, ethnic, and tribal health equity’ and another report in 2023, titled Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations, recommending ways to address widespread racial discrimination in science, engineering, and mathematics organizations in the U.S.
In another report in 2022, NASEM outlined the need to define and incorporate ‘structural racism’ into scientific study and policymaking.
A 2021 NASEM workshop examined ‘anti-Black racism’ in ‘Science, Engineering, and Mathematics.’
‘A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize a virtual public workshop to explore facets of anti-Black racism in U.S. science, engineering, and medicine (SEM),’ NASEM wrote. ‘The workshop will review the discussions at recent workshops of the Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women, identify policies and practices that perpetuate racism in SEM, and lay a foundation of knowledge for others to move more effectively towards anti-racist outcomes.’
NASEM also held a workshop in 2022 called ‘The Roles of Trust and Health Literacy in Achieving Health Equity,’ where a speaker blamed non-diverse leadership of healthcare institutions for alienating minority patients.
McNutt has also been critical of DOGE chief and X owner Elon Musk on social media and said last year, ‘This will be my last post on Twitter/X. I can no longer be part of a platform that actively encourages disinformation and amplifies misinformation, especially when its CEO colludes to undermine democracy.’
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a NASEM spokesperson said, ‘Each year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct hundreds of studies, workshops, and other activities at the request of federal and state agencies, Congress, foundations, and private-sector sponsors on a variety of critical issues facing the nation.’
The spokesperson added that 58% of NASEM’s funding came from the government in 2024.
‘For decades, our work has advanced the American economy, strengthened our national security, bolstered U.S. global competitiveness, and improved our nation’s health and safety. We have taken measures to ensure that we are in compliance with executive orders, including closing our Office of Diversity and Inclusion. We stand ready, as we always have, to advise the new administration on its priorities.’
NASEM’s spending comes under the backdrop of the newly formed DOGE efforts by Musk and the Trump administration to rid the federal government of DEI and wasteful spending.
Trump’s January executive order removing DEI from the federal government has already had an affect on NASEM and caused it to close its DEI program and remove DEI from its website, the New York Times reported.
It is unclear if DOGE’s efforts will continue to effect the day-to-day operations at NASEM.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
